Focus on your thinking, change your results!

I was reading Carolyn's ramble and realized that it's been quite a long time since I've been the "fat chick". My journey started on Australia Day 2005, when I decided that I was going to not only change my body, that I was going to change the way that I thought about myself and finally step up to the plate and be the person I truly was, rather than hiding it it in shame behind a layer of fat or in my case, several layers of fat .

For me, being the person I truly am meant to be was firstly accepting where I was in the whole journey and then who I was. I've lived in the shadows of a fairly extroverted family - not that I wasn't loved or encouraged, but a lot of the time compared to all of the hilarity going on around me, I felt that what I had to offer was bland and boring - part of my transformation has been knowing that it is OK that I can be more on the serious side, introverted and reflective. I often have my best revelations in these moments of quietness. However I love people and love to share in the journey with them as well.

Over the past four years my world has been full of different thoughts and perspectives about all sorts of things that's finally led me to where I'm sitting today, six weeks away from another Figure Comp.yikes! I feel that transformation and personal growth for me occurs in layers and this time around has been yet another experience entirely.

For a start, I've had the swelling joints issue to deal with - the results say probably viral, but have noticed a strong correlation between ingestion of processed wheat products and swelling. So for the first time ever, I have eliminated a food group and embraced the Paleolithic way of eating. I've ditched most food and drinks with artificial sweetener (apart from the odd Diet Coke - I had my first can in about 3 months yesterday at the movies). I'm reading more labels and noticing the insane number of fillers and preservatives that go into so many commonly eaten products and believe that none of this stuff can be possibly good for you.

Secondly, I haven't used a formal training program - why? - because I've been focussed more on moving better and looking after my shoulders, SIJ and glutes. Then I've been trying to fit it in around clients - so often I'll have a look at myself and decide there and then what needs work. Better movement is still the number one priority for me, show or no show.. Cardio works out between 30 minutes and an hour depending what I've got on that day, 4-5 days a week. Usually there are 3 x 30 minutes and 2 x 1 hour.

Thirdly and most importantly, I have a different perspective on this one to previous efforts. I know realistically that I probably won't win or place, given that I just don't have the symmetry or the muscle to be a top figure athlete. My reason for doing this is to honour myself with the values that I hold dear and that I try to instil into my clients - discipline, focus, concentration, perspective, personal growth and seeing the job to completion. I'm looking forward to being up there with the biggest smile ever, to celebrate getting to the end and staying true to my values the whole way through.

Even though I didn't get a stitch of training in last week, I'm going to look very positively towards this week and have loosely planned out my training week - after all to hit a goal well you have to prioritize it. I did a bit of cooking today and am set to go there as well. I made these awesome Paleo tuna patties that I've been enjoying all weekend. I plan on losing 0.7kg this week to bring me to the 5 week out mark. That will happen by Saturday.

Yesterday was fantastic - really enjoyed teaching RPM and having Lia, Dori, Lindy and Tara in class to "enjoy" it with me. I am really loving the High Performance format at the moment even though there was a moment there I was thinking ,"oh no, still two tracks to go!" I chose a few favourites, "Silence" by Sarah McLachlan, "Human" by The Killers and "Blood is Pumpin'" by Serrano et al. It was great to catch up with Lindy O, Shelley, Katie and Shannon afterwards - uplifting to be around like minded people!

We all really enjoyed the movies last night - we've all been making a lot more effort as a family to do things together and this was a fun movie to see.

Not feeling like a competitor this week!

I should title this post, "you make plans and God laughs", which is exactly what has happened to me this week. One of my daughters has been sick with the dreaded lurgy which has meant me taking the entire week off work and doing very limited training. This has left me, naturally feeling like "what the heck are you doing with only 6 weeks to go and not training?" Then I remember that most of it is nutrition side of things being the most important thing right now, with the training being an added bonus. My motivation is to see this thing through properly to the end, enough said. Right now, I am the biggest I have ever been at this stage of the game at this time out, so there is probably some major work to be done. My issue is not seeing myself as being too fat, mine is in seeing more leanness than there probably is - which means it must be time for a round of photos - camera never lies!

I'm looking forward to Saturday though - I get to dish out some RPM punishment to Lindy and Lia plus I get to catch up with Dori and Lisa and some other bloggers to name a few. We're going to head out and have Vietnamese afterwards. I can't wait - so if there's anyone else that would like to join in the party, please let me know.

Hmm , what else - heard a very interesting talk on Sunday about some themes that underpin Christianity and how they apply to the athlete. There were four key points that I found pretty interesting. They were a) dissatisfaction - everyone, no matter what their station in life suffers from varying degrees of dissatisfaction - whether you're rich, poor or somewhere in the middle. In the athletic sense you are always striving towards betterment and if your performance is not up to par, in creeps dissatisfication.
Then, b) discipline - this refers to the point that human beings love discipline in order to live a full life. I know I've mentioned this before - along the lines of why a society without rules doesn't work. Lack of discipline works against the athlete - "sucking it up" and getting on with the job, no matter what it entails seems to be important for success both in athletic endeavours and with life in general. Then there was c) "trust" - in the Christian sense, that is trust in God - and for the athlete, it is "trust" in the plan. I've experienced the benefits of both - call me superstitious, but my prayers do get answered, sometimes though the answer was not what I expected. Finally there was d) gratitude and connection with the poor - to help you to be grateful for what you have and what you can do. Gratitude about how your body works is important for it to work well. My physio said to me when I complained about my shoulder once - "but you're nearly 40 years old and you've never had anything go wrong before this!" It was a great reminder to be thankful for how well things do work.

We all have a tendency to focus on remembering the immediate past, so if injured you will focus on the injury, not how well the body has served you previously.

Wow, I don't know where all that came from! Therein lies my lesson - I just wrote about the week not being to plan - no it hasn't been but I've got other things out of it, so it isn't all for nothing.

Potential Payback!

It turns out that my sore knee is possibly a quad tear, so I've been relegated to being a big bad dial faker tomorrow when I'm teaching RPM. I am pretty sure that I've perhaps overused my quads adding some massive load in my classes so time to dial it back and let it heal. My physio (who I've added as a friend on Facebook as I see her more than I see some of my mates!) tells me it's common to injure something else when recovering from something more major eg my shoulder/abdominoplasty. I had scheduled an hour plus for my training this morning and it consisted of a cruisy 20 minute walk and lots of shoulder rehab type stuff - best news is that today I did lat pull downs without any pain and I demonstrated a bench press today with the Olympic bar - a bit yucky, but I didn't have that "I'm going to go through the roof" type of pain.

Today I got to train Shelley and as usual I spent my time delighting in the the torture I was inflicting upon her and grumbling about my injuries in between sets. I made the comment that maybe I should come to her for a training session when I was healed and the first thing I saw on her face was a sly grin and her imagining how much she was going to punish me. Yeeeouch! Then I got to thinking about all of the programs I send to my clients and wondering how much they'd enjoy telling me what to do. It sounds like "Rule of 3's" and "Whose That Nutter on the Treadmill?" have top billing followed by a gruelling session of squats and deadlifts....

I'm getting more and more excited about the INBA and ANB Comps - this Saturday is of course the ANB and I have Tara competing in that one. I'm probably just as excited as she is so we're going to be quite the combination on Saturday. I also get to holler with Doris down the front! I also will have the pleasure of Irene in RPM on Saturday so it's all systems go up here.

Then I will be in Melbourne on the following weekend to help out clients in the ANB show down there and I can't wait. I will be hanging around for a few days afterwards and if anyone wants a training session please feel free to contact me via the store email contact or in Lindy's forum.

Hmmm

Busy busy busy and still trying to find that balance! I am sitting here with my diary marking out the time that I will be able to train myself next week and icing a tender left knee (don't know where that came from!) .

I think I may have mentioned before but that is what I am finding the hardest part of this job. I cannot believe how quickly my week fills with appointments - I've found myself booking over my training times but that is going to stop as of next week. My training is still pretty limited with my shoulder injury but I've been able to rehab it to the point now where I can do push ups on my knees which is pretty exciting and I'm even doing some cable work with the Paramount trainer. So instead of feeling despondent about things, I should actually focus on the fact that three weeks ago I could not do a push up without being in excruciating pain. I've demoed exercises to Shelley and been blown away when I haven't had any pain.

I can still run, bike but not swim....I will get better, I will stay positive!

On a completely different note, I've been back on the asparagus train - it's super cheap here and today I had two bunches with chicken breast for morning and arvo tea.

And on another completely different note - it's definitely competition time for a few of my clients with talk of Contest Colour, bikinis, posing and routine figuring in a lot of our emails. I just love doing the coaching thing and being a backstage slapper at a comp - I just don't like how I go out in sympathy with some of the girls and go for one jelly snake too many!

So I know I can't dance

Miss S came over today to perfect the last bit of her posing routine. I am still bent over like an old woman, which is a bit discouraging and bloated like anything, so a shapely figure competitor, I am not right now. I was trying not to laugh as I was saying place your foot here, move three steps, point your toes, 1-2-3-4. I could see how terrible I looked in the reflection of the TV, all hunched over and trying to dance..ugh! However, the main thing was that Miss S looked good doing her routine and she does - and posing is looking pretty darn good too.

I was lamenting that this blog has been losing its fitness appeal lately, as my mind and body has been focused on healing from this surgery. My chest looks fantastic, my tummy is taking so much longer to come to the party. I was feeling rather down about everything last night and then woke up this morning feeling much better about things - I will do the best I can with what I can control - eating well, resting and keeping a positive attitude. I WILL turn the corner eventually.

If I thought 2007 was a big one, look out 2008!

I cannot believe the amazing year I have had with starting my coaching business, teaching classes and moving back to Brisbane.

My general coaching and Figure Prep books are full and I'm really looking forward to what 2008 will bring. I must say that I am enjoying this aspect of things immensely. There is nothing better than to see people "bloom" as they progress with their training and nutrition. No two trainees are the same which means there is no set formula I use with people. It may sound hokey, but getting fit can be a life changing experience. I see the same thing in my classes - I have met such great people through teaching classes at Fitness First - I can see myself teaching classes for many years to come.

There are some other big plans in the works which I'm not quite ready to talk about (and no that doesn't include having more kids so rest easy).

I taught two classes today - RPM and Bodystep. I am definitely feeling a little cardioed out. I had to have a Lindor ball to bring me back into balance :)

Figure Fever!

It's officially almost the beginning of the Figure Season with six weeks to go until the INBAs on 6th October. I can almost smell the Contest Colour already! I have a client (she will be laughing at this because it sounds so damn formal) competing in Novice Figure and I am just as excited as she is about bikinis, posing, shoes, music and of course competing in top physical condition. I have no concerns there - we met today and she is in great shape.

I put together a rather impromptu upper body workout today followed by interval running on the treadmill. At one stage I got up to 14km/hr on my sprints and still felt like I had more in the tank when I was done. It's amazing how your mind can be self limiting - I've always had it in my head that I can't run fast and here I am on the slope running towards 40 and running as fast as I could in my 20s. Must be all of John Berardi's fish oil!

I am one blogger who is not participating in Craig Harper's Challenge. I know many of you have been positively affected by what Craig (correctly) writes, but somehow, he doesn't do it for me with his writing style. Is it exercise physiologist envy or what - I don't know - as I agree with most of what Craig writes - maybe it is just down to writing style and nothing more. However to all who are participating, happy Challenging - I won't say "good luck" because luck has nothing to do with good results when it comes to body transformation.

It's Coming, it's coming!

Lots of good things are coming my way in the next few weeks.

Firstly, my move back to Brisbane!

Secondly, I have nearly finished building my own website. I have decided to import high quality advanced fitness DVDs into Australia, including Cathe Friedrich. As far as I am aware, I am the sole Australian distributor for her product. I "met" Cathe online in her Pregnancy forum when we were both pregnant with our second children five years ago. I bought her "Intensity Series" back in 2002 and was so impressed with the quality and versatility of the workouts, I have never looked back. I used the DVDs post partum for those times when I couldn't go to the gym and over the years I have used a lot of Cathe's lower body DVDs in my Figure Prep for my leg training. The weight training DVDs have been excellent to use whilst I don't have any gym access and very effective. I am hoping to have the site operational by the end of the week and I will post details here.

I will also be offering online training and lifestyle coaching, including preparation for sporting events such as marathon, triathlon, cycling events and of course Figure conditioning and preparation.

I'm quite excited to be starting this project. I know I have mentioned a while back my desire to be involved more in the coaching and preparation side of things, rather than competing and this is the perfect platform for me.

Today's workout was a 65 minute walk and Cathe's LowMax. This is a low impact high intensity step workout with leg drills. I used the leg drills (blasts) when training my legs for the Qld Titles last year.

Anyway I must go and get ready for lunch, the girls are having their friends around and I have to go and make some sandwiches. Later!